Retrospection
by crono23
Summary: A small argument between Paulo and Sue provides a little insight for both of them.


"Hey guys! You hear the good news?" Asked Sue as she approached the lunchroom table, a huge grin on her face.

Nearly everyone at the table looked up at her with an inquisitive look as she sat down at the table. When nobody said anything, Sue decided to respond for them. "We're going on a field trip to Maraschino tomorrow!"

Ignoring the pained groans that came from several people around her, Sue continued to keep up the cheery demeanor, until Paulo eventually spoke up.

"Great, another stupid field trip. And just what kinda boring stuff are we gonna be looking at this time?"

Sue's face almost instantly changed to an irritated look, as she glanced over at Paulo who seemed even more miserable than anyone else at the table. "For your information." She stated. "We'll be visiting the Maraschino Museum of History, and it won't be as boring as you say it will."

This did nothing to calm Paulo. "Oh gooood, history? Are you seriously excited about stuff that happened a million years ago?"

Sue's face continued to sour at Paulo's display, and her tail twitched in frustration. "Really Paulo?"

Paulo simply brushed it off. "Look, the only thing I care about right now is not getting bored to tears by a bunch of stupid history stuff."

Sue stared at Paulo incredulously. "Can't you care about this at all Paulo?"

Paulo smiled and shrugged. "Not really"

Leaning back in his chair, Paulo attempted to relax, seemingly oblivious to Sue glaring daggers at him from across the table. A few tense seconds passed for everyone, until finally Sue sighed heavily and got up from her seat. "Why do I even bother...none of you care..." She mumbled.

Everyone watched as Sue walked out of the cafeteria, save for Paulo who seemed to not care about the ordeal until Mike lightly smacked him on the arm.

"Hey, what th-" Paulo opened his mouth to complain, but quickly found himself cut off as he noticed everyone at the table looking at him with varying degrees of anger. Despite the looks he got, Paulo attempted to ignore them until his eyes passed over Daisy and his blood ran cold from the disappointed expression on her face.

"I...I didn't think I was that mean..." Paulo attempted to defend himself, but he gave up when Daisy's face refused to change. Paulo sighed in defeat and slowly rose from his chair. "Okay fine...I'll go talk to her..."

Walking out into the hallway where he had seen Sue gone, Paulo peeked around one of the corners and saw Sue standing with her back to him, a hand covering her face. Ducking back behind the wall, Paulo quickly attempted to figure out what he'd say to her. A few ideas flashed through his mind, until eventually he gave up trying to think of what to say and decided to choose his words as he went.

Paulo peeked around the corner again, except this time Sue was facing him, and no longer covering her face. She quickly spotted him, and his attempts to hide again failed as he heard her voice call out to him. "What do you want?"

Hearing a bit of sadness and anger in her voice, Paulo swallowed hard as he realized his words had done a lot more to her than he realized. Slowly walking into her view, Paulo grew nervous as he noticed a hurt expression on her face.

Seeing that Sue wouldn't say anything to him yet, Paulo coughed awkwardly opened his mouth to speak. "H-hey Sue...I uhhh...just wanted to say sorry for...earlier..." Seeing her expression remain the same, he quickly added, "You know if it means that much to you...I guess I could give this trip a fair chance..."

Sue sighed at him and turned away. "You won't."

Paulo was caught off guard. "Err...what?"

Sue looked back at him, a bit angrier-looking than before. "I know you well enough by now, Paulo. You keep saying you'll change your ways, and then you go back to doing the exact same thing."

Paulo did not take kindly to being insulted, but attempted to stay calm. "And how do you know this'll be any different? If you really want me to, I'll try to be interested in this!"

Sue's eyes narrowed. "You've said that all before. You say you're gonna stop being a jerk, and then you go be a jerk anyway. You say you're gonna settle down with someone and then go right back to chasing women. Why would I think this'll be different?"

Paulo could feel his temper slipping, but still attempted to stay calm. "Y-you don't know that for sure! I swear I'll try to be interested!

Sue sighed in frustration. "Paulo just _stop_. We both know how this is going to work out. You're gonna say you can try to be better, and then you go and do just the opposite. Just forget trying to make me think otherwise."

Paulo tried one last time to remain composed, but Sue's words cut deep, and he clenched his fists in anger. "Like you'd know anything about that."

Now it was Sue's turn to be confused. "Excuse me?"

Paulo's face soured and he took a step forward. "You talk about me changing my ways like it's easy. Like anyone can change how they are on a whim. Well that's not how it works, Sue!" Paulo's voice started to rise. "You think I want to be a jerk? _Hell no,_ but that doesn't make it any easier to stop!"

Sue was startled, but her eyes quickly narrowed in anger. "Maybe you'd _accomplish_ something if you actually _tried_ to!"

Paulo's voice suddenly became dangerously calm "...You're saying I don't try at all?"

"Yes!"

The two cats stared long and hard at each other, neither daring to say a word. Eventually Paulo could keep himself quiet no longer. "And somehow you're better? We all know you're just acting smart Sue. How bout _you_ actually _try_ working hard instead of pretending!"

Sue immediately opened her mouth to retort, but found herself unable to think of one. She didn't want to admit it, but Paulo had a point. "I...I do try!" She stammered.

"Yeah. Trying to act like little miss know-it-all." Paulo replied coldly. "Ever think about trying to act nice for once? Oh that's right. You don't think very much, do you?"

A few tense seconds passed between the two, during which Sue's ears slowly drooped. A few tears appeared in the corners of her eyes, and she sniffled quietly as Paulo kept staring at her aggressively.

Eventually Sue gave up on trying to hold her tears back, and sobbed quietly as she turned away from Paulo, who was rapidly starting to regret his actions.

"H-hey, Sue wait, I-" Paulo tried frantically to fix things, but the damage was done. He attempted to reach out to Sue, only to have his hand swatted away.

As Paulo stared at Sue, one of the things she had said flashed through his mind. _"You say you're gonna stop being a jerk, and then you go be a jerk anyway."_ "Shit Sue...you're right..." He said as realization washed over him.

Through her tear-filled eyes, Sue managed to look behind her at Paulo in confusion. "I really am just a good-for-nothing jerk..." The hurt in his voice caused Sue a pang of regret, but she did little other than watch as Paulo leaned against a nearby locker and slowly slid down it until he was sitting on the floor.

Covering his face with his hands, Paulo reflect deeply on his actions, unaware of Sue silently walking over to stand beside him. While still hurt by his words, she didn't want to see Paulo miserable. At first she refused to do anything, as the pain was still fresh in her mind, but seeing him sit on the floor, deeply regretting his actions made her decide she should do something to help. Slowly she sat down beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders in a meager attempt to comfort him.

Noticing the sudden presence of Sue's arm, Paulo uncovered his face and looked over at the cat beside him. Her tears were mostly gone, and she seemed willing to help, but he could still see a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Thanks..." He managed to say, but quickly followed it with a sigh. "What am I doing Sue...everything I try ends up not happening or failing horribly..."

"Ever thought about asking any of us for help?" She suggested.

"Nah...embarrassment aside, I'd rather not drag you all down with more drama..."

Sue offered a tiny smile. "I'm sure one of us would be willing to help..."

"Even then...I've been this way for years, what could one of you do?"

"A lot more than you could on your own."

Paulo opened his mouth to form an argument, only to realize he couldn't. Sue had a point: some help was better than none. "I suppose." He eventually said. "...Sorry about snapping at you earlier..."

Hearing the regret in his voice, Sue attempted to cheer him up. "It's alright...but it was kind of my fault...I shoulda been nicer..."

"No, I needed to hear that..." Paulo responded. "I just didn't mean to make you cry..."

Another bout of silence happened between the two cats, until distant footsteps were heard from behind the corner, and eventually Mike's grey head poked around the corner. "Hey guys? They sent me to check on you. Might want to get back to the table soon."

The two watched silently as Mike disappeared and walked back down the hallway. They continued to say nothing to each other, until Paulo started to get up. "Guess we should be heading back then."

Sue attempted to stop him. "Hey wait before we do." Paulo stopped and turned around to listen to what she had to say. "The museum trip...It would mean a lot to me if you could at least try to be interested in it..."

Paulo took a moment to think. He decided he owed her something after the short talk the two had, and he _did_ have to start somewhere on trying to be a better person...

Paulo sighed. "Ehhh fine, I'll try..."

Despite the slight irritation in his voice, Sue's eyes lighted up with excitement and she grinned widely. "Really?"

"Only for you tho-" Paulo was caught off by Sue suddenly rushing forward to hug him. He inhaled sharply in surprise, but quickly settled into an awkward silence. When it was clear Sue wasn't going to let go quickly, Paulo grudgingly returned the embrace, and the two separated a few seconds later.

"Well..." Said Paulo awkwardly. "I uhh...suppose we really should head back now..."

"Yeah..." Sue shifted her foot nervously. "...Thanks Paulo..."

A small smiled appeared on Paulo's face. "...Your welcome."

* * *

 **Partially inspired by another BCB fic named "Fuzzy Wuzzy" from 5 years back. Not really a favorite of mine, but gotta give credit where credit is due.  
**


End file.
